Moriarty v. American General Life Insurance Company et al
Filing
72
ORDER Granting Defendant American General Life Insurance Co.'s 68 Motion to Compel; Order to Show Cause. Order to Show Cause Hearing set for 7/9/2018 at 2:00 PM before Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo. Signed by Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo on 6/13/2018. (mxn)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
MICHELLE L. MORIARTY, et al.,
Case No.: 17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
Plaintiffs,
12
13
14
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT
AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE
INSURANCE CO.'S MOTION TO
COMPEL; ORDER TO SHOW
CAUSE
v.
AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.,
15
16
Defendants.
17
18
Present before the Court is Defendant’s motion to compel Plaintiff to produce all
19
copies of her attorney-client fee agreement. (Mot., ECF No. 68.) After considering,
20
Defendant’s motion, Plaintiff’s response in opposition, and all of the documents submitted
21
therewith, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion.
22
I. BACKGROUND
23
On July 18, 2017, Plaintiff Michelle Moriarty filed a putative class action asserting
24
causes of action for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and
25
fair dealing, declaratory relief against Defendant American General Life Insurance
26
Company (“AmGen”) arising from AmGen’s alleged policies and practices pertaining to
27
the application of California Insurance Code Sections 10113.71 and 10113.72, and asserts
28
a cause of action for negligence against Defendant Bayside Insurance Associates, Inc.
1
17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
1
(“Bayside”).1 As an element of her claimed damages for breach of the implied covenant of
2
good faith and fair dealing, Plaintiff seeks attorney’s fees pursuant to Brandt v. Superior
3
Court, 37 Cal.3d 813 (1985). Plaintiff is represented by two law firms in this case – Winters
4
& Associates (“Winters”) and Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP (“N&T”). Winters was first
5
retained by Plaintiff via written agreement on October 13, 2016 (hereafter referred to as
6
the “October 2016 agreement”). N&T was associated into the case via written agreement
7
on August 21, 2017 (hereafter referred to as the “August 2017 agreement”).
8
On or about March 15, 2018, Plaintiff served her amended responses to AmGen’s
9
request for production of documents. (Mot., Ex B.) Request number 10 asks for “[a]ny and
10
all fee agreements between YOU and Winters & Associates in connection with this
11
lawsuit.” (Id. at 26.) Plaintiff provided the October 2016 agreement with Winters but
12
withheld the August 2017 agreement that included N&T and Winters, arguing it was
13
protected by attorney-client privilege.2 (Id.)
14
On May 16, 2018, the parties jointly alerted the Court to a pending discovery dispute
15
regarding Plaintiff’s responses to AmGen’s requests for production of documents. Finding
16
that further briefing would be necessary to resolve the matter, the Court ordered the parties
17
to fully brief the issue. (See ECF No. 67.) The Court also ordered Plaintiff to provide all
18
retainer agreements directly to the Court for in camera review. (See id.)
19
II. LEGAL STANDARD
20
In California, a “written fee contract shall be deemed to be a confidential
21
communication” that is not subject to discovery. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6149. An
22
exception to this exists when a plaintiff seeks attorney’s fees for claims of breach of good
23
faith and fair dealing. See Brandt v. Superior Court, 693 P.2d 796 (1985). Brandt fees “may
24
not exceed the amount attributable to the attorney’s efforts to obtain the rejected payment
25
26
1
The claim of bad faith was brought individually and not as part of the putative class claims.
In her Opposition to the motion to compel, Plaintiff also objected on the grounds of relevance. (See
Opp’n at 2:25-26.) However, it is inappropriate to consider arguments first raised in an opposition brief.
See Ass’n of Irritated Residents v. C & R Vanderham Dairy, 435 F.Supp.2d 1078, 1089 (E.D. Cal.
2006).
2
27
28
2
17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
1
due on the insurance contract.” Id. at 800. “Fees attributable to obtaining any portion of the
2
plaintiff’s award which exceeds the amount due under the policy are not recoverable.” Id.
3
By seeking to recover Brandt fees, a plaintiff waives the privilege that may have covered
4
an attorney-client fee agreement. See Luna v. Sears Life Ins. Co., 2008 WL 2484596, *1
5
(S.D. Cal. 2008); Mancini v. Ins. Corp., 2009 WL 1765295, *4 (S.D. Cal. 2009).
6
III. DISCUSSION
7
Defendant argues any and all fee agreements between Plaintiff and her counsel are
8
discoverable simply by the fact Plaintiff is alleging claims for Brandt fees. Defendant
9
argues the agreements may include fee shifting between the two firms that improperly
10
increases Brandt fees. (Mot. at 5:19-28.)
11
Plaintiff concedes that because she is seeking Brandt fees, she “waives the privilege”
12
covering her attorney-fee agreement “because Plaintiff has specifically put them in issue.”
13
(Pl’s Opp’n, ECF No. 71 at 4:27-28.) Notwithstanding this, Plaintiff argues the August
14
2017 N&T fee agreement should not be turned over because Plaintiff claims there is a clear
15
division of labor between the two firms representing her. Plaintiff argues the Winters firm
16
is representing her for individual claims, which include claims for Brandt fees, while N&T
17
will be representing her for the class action claims, which do not include claims for Brandt
18
fees. Given this division of labor, Plaintiff claims the August 2017 agreement with N&T
19
remains privileged pursuant to § 6149 of California Civil Code. The Court strongly
20
disagrees.
21
A. No Division Of Labor Is Envisioned In The Attorney-Client Fee Agreement
22
Plaintiff argues the Winters fee agreement is the only discoverable agreement
23
because N&T will only work on the class claims while Winters will work on the claims
24
related to the Brandt fees.
25
Plaintiff argues the October 2016 agreement with Winters is “limited to her dispute
26
regarding the loss of the [] policy insuring her husband” while the August 2017 agreement
27
with N&T is limited to “her claims as a class representative” against AmGen. (Pl’s Opp’n
28
at 2:16-27.) However, the fee agreement belies this representation. First, the agreement
3
17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
1
explicitly states that “[i]n order to prosecute the Class Action, as well as [Plaintiff’s]
2
individual claims, [Winters has] associated the firm of Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP.” This,
3
in and of itself, discredits Plaintiff’s argument regarding an established division of labor.
4
Second, the agreement states that Plaintiff agrees she has retained both firms, “not any
5
particular attorney, and the attorney services to be provided to [Plaintiff] will not
6
necessarily be performed by any particular attorney.” Lastly, the agreement states that
7
“Winters intends to file a lawsuit against [Defendant] and N&T will act as co-counsel in
8
the matter to pursue the action as both an Individual [sic] claim and a class action [].”
9
The contract makes it abundantly clear that no division of labor exists as claimed by
10
Plaintiff. Since Plaintiff’s August 2017 agreement explicitly includes the claims that
11
involve Brandt fees, it is not shielded by privilege. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s objection is
12
OVERRULED.
13
IV. CONCLUSION
14
For the reasons set forth above, the Court OVERRULES Plaintiff’s objection and
15
GRANTS Defendant’s motion to compel. Plaintiff shall comply with the subject request
16
on or before June 22, 2018.
17
V. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
18
Plaintiff’s counsel, Craig M. Nicholas, is hereby ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE
19
why sanctions should not issue for raising a frivolous dispute and making oral
20
misrepresentations to the Court.
21
The Court finds the dispute is frivolous for the simple reason that the agreement
22
between Plaintiff and her counsel are written such that the agreement fits squarely within
23
the law providing such agreements are discoverable. This clear cut issue is one that Plaintiff
24
should have conceded from the outset. Instead, Plaintiff’s counsel squabbled with defense
25
counsel resulting in the unnecessary expenditure of both time and financial resources.
26
The Court further finds Nicholas misrepresented the structure of the fee agreement.
27
Not only is the division of labor argued by Nicholas not envisioned in the August 2017
28
agreement, the August 2017 agreement states almost the exact opposite.
4
17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
1
On July 9, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., in Courtroom 2C of the above-entitled Court, the
2
Court will convene a show cause hearing. Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel shall appear
3
personally. Defendant may appear at the hearing.
4
On or before June 20, 2018, Plaintiff’s counsel shall file a Declaration in response
5
to this Order to Show Cause explaining why sanctions should not issue. This Declaration
6
shall not exceed five pages, excluding exhibits.
7
On or before June 27, 2018, Defendant shall file a Reply, not to exceed five pages,
8
excluding exhibits. Defendant’s Reply shall include the fees and costs incurred in raising
9
the present dispute.
10
11
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 13, 2018
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
5
17-CV-1709-BTM-WVG
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?